Randan

From Arabic رَمَضَان‎ (ramaḍān, “Ramadan”). The use of the word attests to the fact that—though Malta had been Christian before the Arab conquest—modern Maltese people mainly descend from converted Muslims. Arabic-speaking Christians otherwise use the terms اَلصَّوْمُ الْكَبِير‎ (aṣ-ṣawmu l-kabīr, literally “great fast”) or صَوْمُ الْأَرْبَعِين‎ (ṣawmu l-ʔarbaʕīn, literally “fast of the forty”). Compare also Għisa (obsolete for “Jesus”). Doublet of Ramadan.

• IPA^(key): /ranˈdaːn/
• Rhymes: -aːn

Randan m (plural Randanijiet)

1. (Christianity) Lent, the Christian time of fasting before Easter